Gangrape videos on sale in UP amid rise in crimes against women

HIGHLIGHTS

Mobile phone clips of gangrapes are being sold in shops in Uttar Pradesh.

Police said that the sales were happening below the counter.

Accused are recording their crimes on mobiles to use as a blackmailing tool.

Picture for representational purpose

HIGHLIGHTS

Mobile phone clips of gangrapes are being sold in shops in Uttar Pradesh.

Police said that the sales were happening below the counter.

Accused are recording their crimes on mobiles to use as a blackmailing tool.

Graphic mobile phone clips of gangrapes are being sold in shops in Uttar Pradesh, as a spate of rapes in one of the country's most violent states has sparked anger and calls for the chief minister to step down.The clips, which last 30 seconds to five minutes, are being sold in the "hundred

Graphic mobile phone clips of gangrapes are being sold in shops in Uttar Pradesh, as a spate of rapes in one of the country's most violent states has sparked anger and calls for the chief minister to step down.

The clips, which last 30 seconds to five minutes, are being sold in the "hundreds, perhaps thousands, every day", the Times of India reported. They cost 50-150 rupees ($0.75-$2) each.

"We are aware. We are taking necessary action. But it is difficult, as the sales are happening below the counter," Ajay Sharma, a deputy inspector general of police in the city of Agra, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In recent weeks, several gangrapes have been reported in Uttar Pradesh, which ranks among the most unsafe for women.

During lengthy trials, victims and their witnesses are sometimes intimidated by the accused who, in some cases, are granted bail by the court.

A wave of public protests following the fatal gang-rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in December 2012 prompted the government to enact stiffer penalties, including the death sentence for repeat rape offenders and the criminalisation of stalking.